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Vietcong:
Purple Haze

Score:
7.2/10

Forget
everything you know from award winning Vietnam films such as Platoon,
Apocalypse Now, and The Thin Red Line. Sure those movies portrayed a
roughly accurate rendition of the 60s and 70s, but what I never got out
of those movies was a genuine feeling as if I was actually there. With
video game companies striking gold on WWII and modern warfare games, the
Vietnam era has received little attention. Rarely does a game come from
that period that truly captures the authentic feel and action of
Vietnam. With Vietcong:
Purple Haze, the Vietnam genre of videogames is finally taking steps in
the right direction.

The
hefty package of Vietcong: Purple Haze is in fact two games in one. The
first is the original Vietcong released in 2003 while the other is an
expansion pack, First Alpha, which we will unfold later.

In
the single player campaign you take control of Sergeant First Class
Steve Hawkins, who is sent to Vietnam as an Intelligence Sergeant at Nui
Pek Camp. The camp is where all of the mission briefings, mission
documents, personal diary, and other possibly important information
regarding your character and progress of the game is located. From there you can
jump back into missions you have previously completed or continue forth
through the storyline, which comprises 28 missions in all.

The
opening cinematic sets forth the atmosphere of the game. With the plain
fields, helicopters, and Vietnamese farmers all in full motion, the
Vietnam setting is realized with great authenticity. Plain fields with
Vietnamese families, huts built out of straw, and gorgeous mountains
fill the scene and mesh together smoothly. Directly after the opening
cinematic was where all of my glee started to wear off.

The
framerate became choppy immediately after I was in control of the game.
While this was on the highest of settings few games are hardly ever
choppy on my test system and the graphics engine in Vietcong has no reason to spawn
choppiness. After lowering my settings uneasily, the framerate issue was
solved although the graphics were still sub-par. Character anatomy is simply, for lack of a better word, goofy. Among skinny arms that don’t
have an elbow

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bend, much like
the dated graphics of Half-Life,
bodies are not scaled differently and replicated. In other words, every
one looks just like the next person with only different faces Even
though the makeup of the bodies is awkward, the faces are actually well
done. The lip-synching is cued up with good timing as are the facial
muscles that correspond with speaking.

Like
what was said earlier, the authentic Vietnam feel is nearly always
present. The lush forests are detailed with moving shrubbery, animated
frogs and other creatures, as well as towering trees that make the
situation tense and nostalgic. If you can put aside the rough edges
graphically, Vietcong: Purple Haze is easily the best “feeling”
Vietnam game in recent memory.

One
portion of the game that is executed to near perfection comes from the
sound department. From the menu screen to the wet marshes, you’ll hear
accurate music and lively clatter. Purple Haze features genuine music
from the era which includes: Iggy Pop, Deep Purple, and The Standells.
The music is played with great timing, such as in the end of a level or
during a panoramic view of an area.

Missions
are given through briefing cinematics in which the details are outlined
as well as your objectives. During the cinematics you also learn more
about the characters personalities. The dialog might be poorly written,
but it helps distinguish characters simply by the tone or style of their
speech. Once the mission is understood, you return to your bunker where
you can look at your personal files, play previous missions, or jump
into the next mission.

Purple
Haze can be seen as a hit or a miss in terms of Gameplay. It’s as
standard as a FPS can get with a few commands given here and there. For
one, you can either have your pointman lead in a mission or you can
personally deliver commands to your company. Either way you will achieve
your goals, although it doesn’t make any difference in how the mission
turns out. Picking up weapons, documents, and ammo in the field is a
great component, since running out of ammo happens often. Dead bodies
carry weapons and ammo after you frisk them. The weapons come in all
different shapes and sizes and are accurate to the times once again. You
can sport the standard M16 or pick up an AK-47 for the extra firepower.
Pistols and grenades are present as well, but are superfluous additions
since the difficulty of the game is…well, not that difficult.

The
biggest disappointed of Vietcong has to be the AI. Take the worst AI
you’ve ever seen in any game, multiply it by infinity, and you might
have a small idea of how bad the AI really is. The VC (enemy) will stand
directly in your line of fire and take your shots. Sometimes they will
make it seen easier for you and run towards your fire. Watching these
events unfold is a laughable occasion, except you won’t be laughing as
the AI continues to baffle you with its incompetence mission in and mission out.

The
official mission pack First Alpha is exactly that: a mission pack, with
a few extra maps, weapons, characters, and a custom game editor. The strategy
guide included on First Alpha is another pointless addition to an
already disappointing game. If you find yourself reading through the
strategy guide at any point, I truly feel sorry for you and recommend
playing a game easier than this…perhaps Barbie’s Horse Adventure.

The
online component of Vietcong is one portion of the game devoted to pure
fun. It won’t be hard finding a good server and the players come in
the dozens. Don’t think that the servers will be filled in the next
few months due to the overwhelming support Battlefield:
Vietnam is receiving. Those few die-hard Vietcong followers will
keep you company, but the multiplayer side of Vietcong is overshadowed
by other online FPS games.

Vietcong
is an aesthetic surprise with great visuals and sound; and a huge disappointment of Gameplay and AI. Both wrapped tightly together.
Vietcong: Purple Haze had the potential of bringing the era back to life
and in some ways delivers just that. It can be seen as a catalyst for
other companies to venture through the era and publish qualities games.
Vietcong is not a bad game on any level and will serve the inviting price tag fully. Just remember not to go into the game thinking this is
the next Medal of Honor or Call of Duty, because it is nowhere near the standards set by those
classics.